Sept. 20, 2014
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Vanderbilt – South Carolina Postgame Notes
Sept. 20, 2014
Vanderbilt Stadium
Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason
Opening comments:
“Congratulations to Coach Spurrier and his football team. They played a tough football game and fought hard. It was a tough game. Our football team – we’re getting better. We just have to continue to work harder and get better at getting off the field on third downs. We’ll take a look at the tape and fix what needs to be fixed. Our kids got better tonight… When we get it right, we look pretty good.”
On South Carolina’s squib kicks:
“We have to be better with that. We practice it.”
On Vanderbilt’s two kick returns for touchdowns:
“You have a young group of guys up front. You saw freshmen making those blocks.”
On QB Wade Freebeck:
“You got a chance to see why we’re excited about his future. You have to play to get better.”
On the status of QB Patton Robinette:
“I don’t know that right now. I’ll have a better idea tomorrow.”
On kick returner Darrius Sims:
“He’s explosive, but we have a lot of guys on this team we need to find ways to get the football to. We have guys who can be explosive.”
On the sideline fumble recovery by South Carolina:
“We have to keep making our own luck. We have to get the ball out of the air in the secondary.”
On confidence in Wade Freebeck:
“I’ll see where Patton is and if Wade [starts at Kentucky], we’ll find ways to make it work for Wade. We ran the ball well. We continued to run the ball well. We’ll continue to run the ball well.”
On whether this was Vanderbilt’s best overall game:
“It was our best overall game. We are a young, good football team with veterans leading the way. We need to tighten down what we do. We need to anchor down.”
On TE Steven Scheu:
“He has the opportunity to affect the game with what he can do between the hashes. We’re creating opportunities for him. I like what he’s doing for us.”
KR/CB Darrius Sims
On tying FBS record for most kickoff return touchdowns in a game:
“It’s an accomplishment, like you said a win would be good. It’s just a stepping stone for this team. We just have to build on this, its a tough loss, we are not proud of it but we have to build on this.”
On what went through his head when he took the first one back:
“It’s definitely a momentum changer. I’m just doing my job by making this team better than before. I tell my guys just do your job and we will be successful.”
RB Ralph Webb
On where the team is:
“I would say our team grows each week. Week-by-week we are getting better. We just have to execute a little better and fight a little harder. Each week I see us fight, and we never quit a fight. That is one thing I love about this team. No matter what the score is or what the clock says, we are going to fight until the clock goes to zero.”
On Wade Freebeck playing in the game:
“I talked to him at half time and said, ‘You have to calm down a little bit, get the nerves out of the system, and leave the first half in the past. You have to play.’ And he stepped up and did his job.
“I didn’t know what happened with Patton, but we are always ready. Each quarterback gets a lot of reps at practice, so he was ready to step up and do his job.”
On making more breaks:
“We have to start making good plays and taking advantage of opportunities and present ourselves. The defense had some great opportunities tonight, they caused a lot of fumbles. We just have to take advantage of a couple of those fumbles.”
LB Caleb Azubike
On the wildcat play:
“Throughout the week we prepared for the wildcat, and we knew that was one of their most dynamic formations and we were going to see that a lot in this game. We had a plan to stop that, and unfortunately when you play big teams like South Carolina it plays are going to happen, we just had to try to limit them, which we weren’t able to do. A play like that is one that a defense prides itself in stopping in other teams can’t afford to have. So that is something we have to go back and see what happened and what we did wrong. But yeah, all week we prepared for the wildcat.”
On putting pressure on the other team:
“We had prepared a bunch of blitzes, just like we do very week, trying to exploit different teams and their pass blocking schemes. We feel like we have a great defensive coordinator in Coach Kotulski. He’s a very smart, intelligent man, and we feel like he’s been able to week in and week out dole out some blitzes that allow us to get to the quarterback and get opportunities. Unfortunately, tonight we didn’t get enough opportunities, and we didn’t make the best out of the opportunities that we were given. There were a lot of missed sacks and missed tackles from us, especially on third downs and stuff like that. We have to, as a defense, analyze ourselves. We have to take that next step because we’re progressing. These are things growing defenses have to go through. I feel like with the support staff we have around us, the great coordinators and coaches, that we’re going to get it done. Things like that are going to start coming for us.”
DT Vince Taylor
On the turnover game and the missed opportunities of obtaining some fumbles:
“The guys were just trying to make plays and take it to the house, but the guys need to realize that you have to follow up whenever you maintain possession.”
On playing better in this game despite not getting the win:
“As they say, when good isn’t good enough, better is required. In this game we need to make the best of every time the ball touches the ground; we need to pick it up. More is required, we’ve just go to work more throughout the week.”
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier
Opening Statement:
“That was a game I didn’t like a bit, although the offenses the kids scored a bunch of points here and there. Bryson Williams picked one off and get a defensive score, we sort of thought we might be able to get one. The way we played is embarrassing. I told the guys it was just embarrassing, and I’m the head coach of this embarrassing group of guys. Allowed two kickoff returns and our defensive backs won’t turn around and look for the ball when they lob it down the field in three deep. And they throw it off the two-yard line and their kid just runs right by there. It’s embarrassing, but we are what we are. We’re not a very good team, but we’re 3-1 some how. And we got all the voters fooled thinking we’re pretty good and I guess that’s because we beat Georgia. But anyways, I don’t know exactly what all can help this team. We thought we coached our butts off all week and could look like a decent team. And of course they run the opening kickoff back, so I’m taking over kickoff. I told coach Joe Robinson I can’t watch that anymore, I’m taking over. If we have to pooch it on the ground, which was pretty good for us, that grounder… Maybe we found something Landon (Ard) can do something better than anyone in the country with that grounder. It took a funny hop every time. But it was sad, running right by the kickoff return guy and he just split us just about every time I guess. But anyways it was discouraging but it is what it is. We have to almost score a touchdown every time or else we’ll get our butts beat some how or another it seems like. Fortunately, we were able to score a bunch. Guys hit some passes, Dylan (Thompson) had a few good ones here and there and missed some here and there, missed some long balls. Pharaoh Cooper had a heck of a game, he got the game ball for 10 catches and that long run there at the end that I thought put it away. But Dylan put it in there at the end and I thought that was a mistake, I should have taken about three downs and try to sneak that thing in because there was about four minutes left and we only had a 14-point lead. I was nervous, but fortunately they didn’t recover the kick and score like they did in 30 or 45 seconds. They would have had an onside kick to go tie the game. So that was a mistake on my part letting them score with four minutes left in the game. So I’ll try to get smarter in the future and hopefully we can get better, but it was embarrassing.”
On the performance by Vanderbilt:
“Well, Vanderbilt has not been an offensive juggernaut in the SEC and we did hold them to not a lot of points. We got the turnover and they did quite have 400 yards, which is good. They did have 55 plays and that was pretty good. We had 68 plays to their 55, but holding Vandy to 380 yards, I think that’s their best for the year, but I’m not sure. We did some good plays here and there, but we can’t brag about what we did defensively here today.”
On calling pass plays:
“Well we had the guys open deep, but as you know we didn’t hit any of them. Dylan (Thompson) over threw and one of them, Shaq Roland did catch. I thought he should have sprinted through it, but he stopped and leaped and missed. Maybe it was a little too far, but I don’t know. So we got 2nd and 10 and a couple of runs called… we threw that little quick screen out there for minus five with minus three starting out, but it was a bad start but we only had three punts in the game. Offensively we only had about 450 yards, so those guys played well. Vandy always played us pretty tough. I think that’s the most we’ve scored on them since I’ve been here and we got one defensive score on them, but they stopped us a bunch. Made a bunch of third downs there in the fourth quarter that was helpful, it really was. Elliot Fry made all his field goals, which was very helpful. But we’ve all seen good football teams, we ain’t one, the way we played… Don’t say we’re one, but maybe we can be. It was no fun watching us play for me tonight.”
South Carolina WR Pharoh Cooper
On persevering through the whole game:
“It’s not easy to get up, but that’s football. That’s the game. You’re gonna take some hits, take some shots, be bruised up after the game. We just gotta have the mindset to keep pushing and win the game.”
On being a player South Carolina can count on:
“I wanna be a guy our team can count on–whether it be any position on our team–special teams, wildcat formation or receiving but I wanna be a guy our team can count on every play.”
On his 70-yard run:
“It was a power sweep to the right. The linemen made a great block, I came off his hip and I just hit it, I wasn’t even looking at the end zone, I was looking at the scoreboard.”
South Carolina TB Mike Davis
On being active on offense:
“Whatever the coaches call, I’m always down for it. It felt great to get those 10, eight yard runs.
“I was just trying to make a play and get my team hyped. I look forward to those highlight runs.”
On if South Carolina is where it needs to be at this point in the season:
“Not really, but things happen and I’m happy where we are. We’re a great team, we have a great offensive line, and great skilled people around us. I love my guys to death.”
On if the game was what Spurrier characterized as “embarrassing”:
“We did play sloppy in the beginning, it was the first away game, so we struggled in the beginning but we got it together. Coming into the second half we said the score was zero to zero, it’s a new game. We just came out there, executed, and did our job like we were supposed to.”
South Carolina QB Dylan Thompson
On the performance by Pharoh Cooper:
“Pharoh can just do it all. We saw that tonight. I was telling him in the third quarter `I’m sorry man. Every time you have a completion, you get rocked’. He keeps getting back up and played his butt off. He doesn’t take any credit outside the locker room or anything like that. He’s just a humble kid that comes to work every day. So you have to appreciate that.”
On Spurrier’s disposition after the game:
“Probably not but probably the same can be said for the other guys in the locker room. We can’t play like that. We have to sharpen up in every facet of the game. We come in here and just play sloppy. It was sloppy game; hard to watch as a fan I’m sure. We did get the win. You appreciate road wins especially in the SEC. But we have to sharpen up.”
On the pressure felt after the early deficit:
“I just know that we tried to play and whatever coach calls in, we’ll try to do the best we can and do that. We just have to sharpen up on offense. We didn’t have a bad game offensively I don’t think. We just have to get sharper and we’ll do that this week in practice.”
On early frustration in the passing game:
“I have to take responsibility for that because anytime we got guys open, I have to hit them. Regardless of anything or any other circumstance. I should have hit two of those I felt like. But we didn’t quit, kept fighting and got a win on the road.”
On the kickoff returns:
“It’s different. That’s something that usually doesn’t happen in the game. But at the same time, we can’t control that. So as an offense, we just do our job and to try to establish the run and be balanced. I thought the way that we responded to those was good for us and good to see it. You get put in different situations on the road to test you. I think we got tested tonight.”
